Spring 2017

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SPRING 2017 HOMESCHOOL IOWA 9
ing or conversations with the people around them are solidi-
fied. Learning and play go hand-in-hand. Sometimes we might
participate or initiate this play as part of more formal education
such as when we have them dramatize the revolving of the
earth around the sun, or act out a scene from Macbeth. Other
times, it is accomplished simply by saying no to electronics and
letting themuse their imaginations tomake up their ownworlds.
If your kids are anything like mine, they will probably take what
they are learning into their play. I have the fondest memories
of the hours and hours my sisters and I spent together with our
paper dolls working out relational skills, developing empathy,
and keeping each other accountable for historical accuracy
with whatever era we were imitating. I’ll never forget the days
my boys spent playing with ice cubes and their sea animals
as they replicated life in the Antarctic ocean regions while
I cooked dinner.
3. TIME TO PONDER
One of the great gifts we give our children is time to process
and time to ponder. Young children ponder most frequently
through play. As children get older, it can take the form of day-
dreaming. When we create time in their lives to simply BE, they
have opportunity to ponder great mysteries and work creatively
towards solutions to problems they encounter. We give them
time to ponder, when we slow down our lives to walk beside
them and talk about the issues they are facing and hear about
the things they are learning about. These are moments that we
cannot manufacture on our own, but ones that crop up in the
daily living out of our lives together. This gift of unhurried con-
versation allows them to really wrestle with ideas and process
what they are learning.
As the guardians of your family’s time, you get to decide
what this looks like for your own family in each season you walk
through. In our home, we have adopted a knight-training mind-
set that recognizes that our children are in training now for the
adventure of life and that it is our job to not only train them, but
allow them time to grow and develop - time to read great books,
play hard, and to think deeply. In doing so, we give our children
a great gift that will go with them for the rest of their lives.
HEATHER HAUPT is the homeschool mother of
3 knights-in-training and a spunky little prin-
cess, and the author of ‘Knights-in-Training:
10 Principles for Raising Honorable, Coura-
geous, and Compassionate Boys.’ She is excited
to come speak at the NICHE Convention in June. She writes at
WORKSHOPS
• Homeschool Myth Busters
• Equipping Kids to Persevere and Pursue Excellence
• Why Movement is the Magic Ingredient for Learning
• Homeschooling the Early Years: You Gotta Turn
Right To Go Left
• Sharing Life, Love and Learning… How Homeschooling
Can Build Relationships – with Colene Lewis
SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017
9:30AM – 12:00PM | 1:00 – 3:30PM
$40/NICHE member student | $50/non-NICHE member student
Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center
TEEN TRACK – DON’T BE DUPED: PERSUASION,
LYING, AND OTHER DANGEROUS POLITICAL SKILLS
with Instructor Nathan Oppman, Ed.D.
Come join us for an interactive demonstration of how political speech works, where you get to be the
speakers! Through video, speaking, and fun exercises, students will be able to observe the effects different
speech techniques have on their reactions and why political rhetoric is so effective.
TO REGISTER VISIT